JimWorld Gazette Issue #92 06/06/2000

JimWorld Gazette - Issue #92 - June 6, 2000

CONTENTS

• Almost A Turning Point In History
  
• Photoshop Filters Everyone Needs
  
• A Proud Father
  
• New Tools From Jimworld
  
• Need To Spider The Entire Web?
  
• Six Tips For Increasing The Quality Of An Ezine
  
• Can I Really Make Money With Affiliate Programs & MLMs?
  
• Affiliate Gluttony
  
• Just Over Broke
  
• Snippets

Link to this issue of the Gazette as http://gazetteworld.com/go/to.cgi?l=g92

In this issue we focus on a topic we have badly neglected of late: how to pick ways to make money via the Internet. Take the time to consider each point and how it relates to your efforts. You'll be rewarded with a better grasp on future profits.

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ALMOST A TURNING POINT IN HISTORY

It was the best of times.

It was the worst of times.

It was the Internet era.

It was an election year.

Looking back upon the pivotal year 2000 gives some perspective on the watershed events leading to the preordained demise of what once was known as the "Greatest Hope For Worldwide Equality," better known to students of modern social history as the "Internet."

A review of the social events and trends leading to the irreversible end of the Open Internet is required in order to even partially understand how such a powerful tool for personal enrichment and social change could be brought to an end.

The beginning of the New Millenium saw sweeping social changes brought about by cheap and easy access to unfiltered information. Restrictive governments were under constant pressure to reduce their tight control over the thoughts and actions of their captive citizens. It has always been necessary to control information in order to control the minds of a governed citizenry.

The world's popular media had by that time completed their evolution from an investigative and analytical watchdog into what we now know as "newstainment" in which the obligations of all media members required only that they produce popularity rating points and keep members of the public from unfruitful worrying about current events. The governments of the evolving 21st century world were their able and motivated partners in this "dumbing down" of the population. All politicians, and especially candidates for office, had mastered the skills necessary to avoid substantive commentary while providing "sound bites" that could be used to separate television commercials from each other. It had been found that commercials not separated by humor were ineffective and to be avoided.

Although only partially perfected at this critical time in history, the media ratings technique now known as "the feeding frenzy" was none the less far enough evolved to lend substantive support to the forces arrayed against the Internet movement.

Government was shrewd to recognize that a frontal attack on the Internet was doomed to failure, but that didn't mean they were powerless. Supported by the need for "issues" by the mainstream media, it would turn out to take longer, but their constant pandering to public fears of invasion of privacy would, in the long run, win the race for them. Small law after another eventually chipped away at the power of the individual to realize their dreams and placed progress back where it belonged: in the hands of established business who understood well the need to contribute funds to the election coffers of popular political campaigns.

It was not until Big Business was firmly back in control of commerce in America that laws with real teeth were able to be passed, but those laws only served to keep technology from running out of control again in the future. They were not needed to solve the Internet Revolution problems. Those problems had been solved by drawing the public's attention to the evils being visited upon them by Unscrupulous Nerds.

Reached for comment in California where he is now employed as a night guard at the Truth About The Internet Historical Museum, Jim Wilson, one time Internet activist and writer, commented on his place in history assured by his conviction under the then-new Nerd Containment Law. "It was an exciting time to be alive. The Internet back then was a place of real opportunity for individuals. Today's Internet is just another extension of Big Business. What a sad loss! Not that I'm unhappy mind you. Guarding the museum is a great job. Really great. Don't write that I said otherwise. Please!"

PHOTOSHOP FILTERS EVERYONE NEEDS

Extensis PhotoTools 3.0
http://extensis.com/phototools/

It's time to update my review of the Extensis PhotoTools 2.0 Photoshop plug-ins.

If you recall, PhotoTools so impressed me that I went into great detail of each and every powerful tool included in the suite. Not so this time. There is just too much good stuff included to go into that kind of detail.

PhotoTools 3.0 is a versatile collection of texture making, button building, custom beveling, shadow casting, GIF animation and everyday effects generation tools that are essential for any person serious about building great looking web sites.

New in version 3.0 are some features that I already can't live without:

1. The PhotoCastShadow filter now offers multiple light sources casting multiple shadows in addition to its previous unique options of Drop Shadow or Cast Shadow. Banding effects have been reduced through a variable "noise" factor.
   
   
2. Textured surfaces are now possible in PhotoButton. A giant step beyond untextured buttons.
   
   
3. New tool, PhotoTexture can create an infinite variety of show-stopping textures with guaranteed seamless edges. Where was this when I started developing backgrounds for FreeSiteTemplates?
   
   
4. New tool, PhotoAnimator automatically generates the frames and transitions for animated GIFs with a wide selection of transitions and special effects. The results are smooth and compact due to the attention Extensis has paid to file size optimization.
   
   
5. New tool, PhotoGroove lets you create bevels that have never been seen before through its new Bevel Shape Editor. You have full control over the surface of the bevel by applying textures such as rubber, plastic, metal and chrome.
   
   
6. PhotoButton has been expanded to allow for new shapes, user defined shapes, textured surfaces and bump maps.

One of PhotoTools' best tools: PhotoText is no longer included in the package. But don't be sad. They have taken it out so they can give it away to everyone for FREE. Just go to their web site and download the plug-in. You don't have to buy anything. Are they nuts? That's a great tool!

Another included tool is the PhotoBars, which allow you to create buttons on the Photoshop desktop leading to any Photoshop function you use frequently. No more clicking through an infinite number of drop down lists of tools.

This review doesn't do justice to one of the most useful tools you can own. If you use any of the graphics programs that accept Photoshop plug-ins, you must have this suite of tools. And, Yes. It's available for both Windows and Mac.

Download the full version, 30-day free trial. By the end of the trial, you won't be willing to go on without them.

Estimated Street Price

• New purchasers $149.95 (US)
  
• Upgrade for PhotoTools 1.0 & 2.0 owners $49.95 (US

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A PROUD FATHER

Each year in the U.S., students throughout the country compete in the National History Day Competition.

This year the topic was "Turning Points In History" and students were required to research an event and relate it to the changes brought about by the event. Presentations could be made as a group of students or individuals, in the categories of tabletop presentations, live performances, video/film documentaries and theme papers.

In California, plus a few other states, presentations can also be made on Web sites, however the winners are not able to move on to the national competition.

My son Nick entered as an 8th grade individual with his subject of the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

The effort that he put into his research and the publishing of his findings took control of his life for several months. It was a joy for a father to see.

Cutting to the chase, Nick won the competition at his school and moved on to the county level where he also won.

He then attended the California State Competition in Sacramento and came home with the first place Blue Ribbon.

You can see what a 13-year-old can accomplish when motivated at < http://adayofinfamy.com >

His site is already getting a steady flow of traffic, thanks in large part to several California schools who have published it as a curriculum resource for their history students.

Unfortunately, the National History Day Competition does not include a category for Internet. After corresponding with the management of the national committee, I gave up trying to convince them that anything invented since 1940 has any value in education. They are "considering" it and "might" one day in the future include Web sites.

Surely they mean as soon as the world has moved on beyond the Internet. Until then, students will have to satisfy their creative urges by gluing typewritten pages to foamcore display boards which can be stored in the garage when the competition is over.

You can express your views on this issue by sending an email to < mailto:Hstryday@aol.com >

The National History Day web site is at < http://www.thehistorynet.com/NationalHistoryDay/ > where you will find resources to send your thoughts to your Congressional or State representatives. I doubt that your thoughts on the matter are exactly what the History Day Committee had in mind when they posted the suggestion.

Maybe the reactions will wake them up. Or not.

NEW TOOLS FROM JIMWORLD

Keyword Wizard
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Have you fought hard to gain high rankings for your main keywords in the major search engines only to find that your traffic didn't really go up much? How could this be when you have number 1 placement in several critical keywords?

Maybe no one is using those keywords to search for information. Maybe they are using different words.

That's great, but how do you find out?

Visit the Keyword Wizard. The Wizard spiders several major search engines 24 hours every day and accumulates the keywords real people are using on real search engines. Then the Wizard summarizes the results and outputs a list of the top 5,000 search terms and makes it available for you to browse through at your leisure. There is also a list of the Top 500 search terms sorted by popularity.

In the database of 5,000 search terms you will find valuable information even if you are already happy with your traffic. How about all of the ways people incorrectly spell your keywords? Or common words they combine with your keywords? Or the ways your keywords appear when entered on non-English configured keyboards?

Each week I'll upload the prior week's results so you'll have a steady flow of real world trends to work with.

We have developed some excellent spidering technologies to gather the raw data and summarize it for the Keyword Wizard. If you have need of custom spidering, please send your inquiry to mailto:getabot@jimworld.com

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Privacy World
http://jimworld.com/privacy/

The plethora of random privacy laws being passed throughout the world mandated that we organize a part of JimWorld to help you stay current on the actions you need to take to attempt to stay in compliance with these often-conflicting laws.

Privacy World is home to an archive of privacy related news stories and several tutorials developed for JimWorld, including the excellent COPPA overview written by Michael Martinez.

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NEED TO SPIDER THE ENTIRE WEB?

SSNet, Inc., recently ranked as the 67th fastest growing Independent Software Vendor in North America, has become the latest Application Service Provider by making their proprietary Internet-wide spidering services available to the public at < http://extremeinsight.com > This new service is ideal for trademark and copyright enforcement, locating affiliate or advertising links, finding links to specific file types or names, creating industry or location specific databases or creating extremely targeted contact lists.

Extreme Insight can conduct specific target string searches across the entire Internet or any designated portion thereof building a database of URLs, page titles, META tags, contact information and more. Unlike even the best "off-the -shelf" client-side search engine spiders like Web Bandit, Who's Talking, Copernic and others, Extreme Insight searches are not limited to the small percentage of web pages that are currently indexed or made available by the search engines. It uses a proprietary spidering and in-page searching system that can find and parse every static page on the Internet based on customer-defined parameters.

"As each web page within the search criteria is downloaded, our system conducts an in-page search of the actual HTML coding looking for the client's target string. If found, the Page Title, URL, Email Address, Phone, FAX and Address found on the page are databased along with the META Keywords and Description and the exact line of HTML coding that contains the target string." explains T.J. Walker, Founder and CEO of SSNet, Inc.

Once a project is complete, the resulting database is sent to the client (either on CD-ROM or via FTP) in a standard comma delimited file that can easily be opened or imported into a database program where a myriad of queries and reports on the data can be performed.

If you have a need for data gathering from the Web, give TJ a call. This is the first service of its type I seen and I predict it will be busy most of the time.

SIX TIPS FOR INCREASING THE QUALITY OF AN EZINE

Do you take that extra step when you are getting ready to email your ezine? Or do you just hit the send button after you cut and paste it?

I subscribe to many fine online newsletters or ezines as they are called and for the most part they look pretty professional when I receive my copy. There are some that could use some help in regards to format and spelling and that is what prompted me to put some thoughts together on the subject. I also thought that these tips might help some of you that might be thinking about publishing your own ezine.

I have been publishing my own ezine now for over two years. Over that time I have tried to publish a timely and quality document twice a week. Along the way I have developed certain habits that I believe are key to putting out a professional ezine. I am not covering content here, that can be a whole topic in itself, so let's assume that you have quality content within the scope or theme of your ezine.

Here are tips that you may find useful:


>> Line Format

Keep your ezine lines at or below 65 characters per line. This will maximize the professional look. I receive many ezines where there is one long line then a line with one or two words and then a long line, then short line, etc. Using 65 characters will work in most email browser windows without the longer lines wrapping to the next lines.


>> Graphics/Characters

Keep the use of graphics or miscellaneous symbols and fancy characters to a minimum. Remember that not all email browsers are able to read things the same way. What may look great to you might look like garbage in some other program.


>> Spell Checking

Please use your software's spell check process. If you are using something like Notepad that doesn't have spell check then use the one with your email program or run it through another program that has one. It doesn't look very professional to publish a document that has misspelled words in it. You be surprised how many articles I receive for possible publication that have misspelled words in them.


>> Test Mailing

When you have your ezine ready to go and you think it looks great, send it to yourself before sending it to the thousands on your subscriber list. It takes less than five minutes to do this and can be well worth it. Every once and a while, after I send it to myself, I will find that there is this one or two lines of text that go beyond the 65 character limit and wrap around to the next line because I missed a hard return. Or something I thought I had centered isn't.


>> Check the links

I hate to get an ezine where I might see something interesting and when I click on the link it doesn't work. So after you send it to yourself, check all the links, especially the ones in your advertiser ads. They are paying customers and you should insure that their links work. In fact, as a matter of practice, I check all ad links at the time I receive them whether they are submitted by regular email or through a web based order form. That way if there is a problem you can email the customer and make sure it gets corrected long before the order is ready to go out.


>> Send Courtesy Copies

I don't know how many publishers do this, but back about a year ago I started sending a courtesy copy of each issue, at the same time as I sent the issue out to all subscribers, to all advertisers in that issue and to any author whose article I might have used in that issue. It may be a duplicate if they are a subscriber, but in many cases they may not be. And when you get to a subscriber base of thousands, you really can't keep track of who is and who isn't a subscriber.

If you promote advertising from your web site, some of your advertisers may not be subscribers. And as far as authors go, there is a good chance that they may not be a subscriber if you are on lists or groups where hundreds of authors send you their work on a regular basis. I simple change the Subject to "Your Ad in...." or "Your Article in..." and follow it with a "Thanks!".

Some of these may seem like things that you might normally do, but you should get in the habit of doing them, especially those involving the format and appearance of your ezine. All of the above items make for good quality control and customer service!

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Article by Joe Reinbold, Publisher of Home Income Quarterly E-dition, a free weekly online marketing newsletter. To subscribe just mailto:subscribe@homebizlink.com with "Subscribe" in the subject. Or visit The Entrepreneur's Home Business Link where you will find the solutions to your home business needs at: < http://www.homebizlink.com >

CAN I REALLY MAKE MONEY WITH AFFILIATE PROGRAMS & MLMS?

To respond with a short answer: Yes. Absolutely!

Here is a brief explanation of how to get started making money in the first 30 days.

The first thing to do is document a simple starting plan on paper. KISS - "Keep it simple sweetheart!" or "Keep it simple stupid!" whichever the case may be. :-)

Yes, it's important to study and get some advanced ideas from the so-called experts, but while you are doing this you can start earning money in the meantime. In the excitement of starting a new affiliate program or MLM it's easy to get caught up in the desire to learn everything there is to know about the new program before you get started, but that's not what these programs pay you to do.

I was once in a very good MLM program several years ago with a good friend named Bob for the sake of this article. Bob was a real student of MLM. He had the presentation down to an "award winning performance." He could motivate you to the point you wanted to run out of the room and find someone to show the program to. He could quote all the great MLM leaders. He was GREAT to work with! But he never made very much money at all. Why? Because he never showed his skills to anyone except the people at the meetings, which were almost always already recruited or in the process of being recruited by someone else.

There is something to be learned from Bob. You must get started selling and building your business. The sooner, the better.

There is something to be said for I.O.F. (Ignorance On Fire.) It's not important that you know everything about everything before you get started recruiting and selling. Excitement and motivation go a long way. Folks can see genuine excitement even in an ad or sales letter and quite often this is more effective than detailed knowledge.

Spend 25% of your time studying and 75% of your time selling and recruiting.

Now here are some specific points to help you get off to a good start:

• Get your own domain and your own web site. This is a must. No matter which affiliate program or MLM you are involved in, you need your own domain and web site. Forget the freebie web sites which are available by the thousands. There aren't many things the top marketers agree on, but most do agree on this point.
  
  
• Once you have a web site, give people a good reason to visit it and a compelling reason to come back. It's downright foolish to just send folks to someone else's affiliate or MLM web site. Get them to your web site first. On your web site promote your affiliate/MLM programs, your ezine, and most importantly, keep lots of constantly updated free content. Good things to place on your web site are articles, e-books, software downloads, advertising resources, etc. Use your imagination and try to be original. Don't just offer the some old "rehashed" freebies everyone else has on their web sites.
  
  
• Once you get them to your web site you want to do what? CAPTURE THEIR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS! If you aren't publishing your own newsletter/ezine you have just shot yourself in the foot before the race even starts. This is another area that almost every one of the top marketers agree on. 85% or more of my sales and recruits come from my ezine. Sure, they use my web site as a resource, but they buy and sign up through the ezine more often than not.
  
  So how do you get ezine subscribers Leon? Submitting my own articles to hundreds of publishers, submitting my ezine to ezine directories, and through my web site traffic. That's the whole truth. No secrets. Just lots of hard work.
  
  
• When starting out, only start with one program. Whether that one program offers one, two, or three products doesn't matter. Start with one program. Remember to spend 75% of your time promoting and selling, and 25% of your time studying that program and fine tuning your efforts. As you promote and study you will see first hand what works and what doesn't. Never be afraid to contact your sponsor and ask what they are doing to promote their business. If they don't seem willing to help you don't join any other programs under them. A successful sponsor who is willing to help you get a good start is a big asset.

Once you get a good grasp of how the program works and feel like you can handle another program, take on something else. But never join a program you don't have the time or means to promote effectively.


>> DON'T CONFUSE YOUR VISITORS

Limit the choices you offer your web site visitors and ezine subscribers.

Never offer more than one web hosting company from the same web page or ezine. Never offer more than one marketing course or book from the same web page or ezine. Never offer more than one auto-submit program from the same web page or ezine. Never offer two brands of the same dietary supplement from the same web page or ezine. Get the idea? You will only confuse your visitors and probably not make a sale. Sell with authority!

Unfortunately credibility is a really rare online. Oh sure there are very credible marketers online and very credible companies online, but they are often obscured by the get-rich-quick, fly-by-night scams. Many of these dishonest businesses have learned to exploit the anonymity the Internet offers. Some people hide behind a false name and offer no contact information. Some of these people have no problem taking your money and running with it. They are often nearly impossible to track down. Or at least the cost of tracking them down is more than the amount lost would afford.

Folks, there are very few free lunches, and the only place "success" comes before "work" is in the dictionary.

Before joining a program I advise folks to go to http://www.worldwidescam.com/ and make sure it's not found there. If you find your program there...you need a new program. I suppose they aren't 100% fool proof, but they catch a lot of the scams.

My best advice is to stay away from Internet malls in general, these are catching a lot of flack almost everywhere.

I believe the ideas above are good advice for anyone involved in, or starting in, Internet marketing. It's not everything you need to know by any means. But if you implement these ideas you can focus your efforts, decrease the learning curve a little bit, and avoid many pitfalls that I and other successful marketers have fell into in our past experiences.

Good luck! And remember, NO program works till you do!

----------

Leon Brickey is webmaster of Appalachian Online Marketing. < http://www.appalachianmarketing.com > Find everything you need to turn your struggling business into an explosive moneymaker. Free subscription to Absolute Internet Marketing Resources Ezine containing the most current, up to date online marketing resources on the planet.
< mailto:ezine-subscribe@appalachianmarketing.com?subject=art-sub >

AFFILIATE GLUTTONY

-- And How "YOU" can Avoid Falling Into The Same Trap

Being the affiliate-marketing director for one of the net's most popular affiliate programs I tend to see just about every type of problem an affiliate could run into. One of the biggest problems, if not THE biggest problem I see again and again is what we refer to as "Affiliate Gluttony."

And no, were not talking donuts here!

All jokes aside, affiliate gluttony is a very real and serious problem among the affiliate marketing world and you may be surprised to find that your own web site might fall into the gluttony category. Don't worry though, it's only partially contagious and there is a cure!

So what is affiliate gluttony?

Glad you asked. If you can recognize affiliate gluttony, you can avoid it entirely and increase your affiliate promotion revenue.

Affiliate gluttony is really greed in disguise. It's an "unfocused" attempt at earning multiple income streams. Don't get me wrong. Multiple income streams should be one of your highest goals, but trying to create them on one web site is just asking for failure. No wait... it's BEGGING for it!

I am sure you have seen it many times online. You come across a web site while looking for a product or piece of information and you get dumped into Gluttony Land.

Let's set an example here...

Sally has a web site on ebook marketing, which promotes "Big Companies Super Duper Ebook Marketing Guide" affiliate program. But hold on a minute. While we are waiting for the page to download ridiculous quantities of needless images, we also see that Sally is promoting the "Dandy John's Nuclear Powered Orange Juice Squeezer With Email Attachment Interface" plus don't forget the "Romance or Bust: Hitch Hikers Guide To Finding A Soul Mate On The Open Desert Road In 7 Days or Less" affiliate program and several "hundred" other great bargains that we have all been looking for our entire lives! Wow, everything from fruit baskets to rocket fuel.

Golly, we found the mother lode here! I better call my credit card company right now and request a credit extension because daddy's going to be ordering up a storm today! Sally will be on her way to a tropical paradise by the time I'm done shopping at her site.

S T O P ! ! !

Ok Sally, it's time to wake up! In reality I'd hit my browsers back button faster than you can say: "What's a nuclear powered orange juicer look like?"

How many affiliate ad's do you think you can fit on one web page? Are you trying to break the record?

This is killing your sales!

Sally has been stricken with a severe case of AF (affiliate gluttony.) All is not lost though. With a bit of work, Sally will be able to create several income streams out of her web site, all without losing any of her affiliate programs she so enthusiastically promotes.

If you're already stuck in this rather popular ditch it's not hard to dig yourself out. Slowly modify your web pages with a personal touch and you will soon see your click through rates and sales referrals pleasantly increasing.

Our best advice to Sally is to take each of her most popular affiliate programs and create unique web sites for each.

It's not as hard as you think it is. Imagine if Sally bought up nuclearjuicer.com and created a 3 to 5 page web site that totally focused on promoting "Dandy John's Nuclear Powered Orange Juice Squeezer With Email Attachment Interface." Do you think her sales would increase? You better believe it! Adding pictures, personal testimonials and quick load times will help create a total marketing machine focused on selling one product. When a targeted visitor comes to nuclearjuicer.com looking for a juicer they will have nothing interfering with their purchase decision.

Whether you promote software or lawn mowers, if you focus on your target market, you will increase your affiliate referrals.

Sally can immediately put this idea into play with very little out of pocket expense using these resources:

Domains can be purchased dirt cheap at:
http://www.000domains.com/

Web servers are very inexpensive and easy to find:
http://www.hostinvestigator.com/
http://webhostdir.com/
http://www.hostcompare.com/

Targeted traffic can also be purchased dirt cheap at:
http://www.virtual-imagination.com/payperclick/

Need help with HTML, uploading and graphics? Here is just about everything you could possibly need to create a site:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
http://www.obscure.org/~jaws/htmlhelp.html
http://www.webmonkey.com/

With a little time and patience, you can literally create as many affiliate income streams as you want. Each one should be focused on one specific category or concept to generate the most revenue. When you leave your targeted visitors with fewer purchasing choices and keep them focused on one product, you will create many more affiliate sales.

Remember, a glutton's ugly on the eyes...

DON'T BE A GLUTTON!

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Article by: David Seitz, CEO and President Virtual Imagination Inc.
< http://www.virtual-imagination.com/ >
Subscribe to the free award winning Helping Hand Internet Marketing Newsletter today for more great articles and tips just like this.
< mailto:subscribe@associatesearch.com >
< http://www.helpinghand-newsletter.com/ >

JUST OVER BROKE

You probably get hundreds of emails a week promising great riches. "Financial Freedom", "Earn Money While You Sleep", "Be Your Own Boss", "Create Your Own Destiny", "Escape Your Dead End Job", "Be Able to Watch Your Kids Grow Up While Making Money", "Work at Home", are all common headlines. Are these statements true?

First, let's have a reality check. Today over 90 percent of start-up businesses on the Internet fail within the first year. The majority of these businesses fail in a few short months. Why?

The answer to this is simplistic. Many people are conned into a program that cannot succeed without selling the same program to other people. This is a typical example of a pyramid, and when you run out of suckers to sell the program to, you are out of business.

Others jump into a program without finding out the particulars first. Envelope stuffing is a perfect example. You are promised one dollar for every envelope you stuff. With visions of "sugar plums dancing in your head", you figure you could do hundreds a day. Let's face it - machines can stuff thousands an hour. Why would someone pay you a dollar apiece? They won't - it's a con - pure and simple.

Some might stumble on a legitimate venture - yes there are some out there. But they followed the "Earn Money While You Sleep" routine. They believe if they follow some simple directions, they will be "rolling in dough" without having to do any work. When the postman isn't filling their mailbox with $20 bills, they lose heart and quit.

Others might buy some "obsolete government reports" on a CD and believe the "rap" that they can sell each one for $15 a pop. They get a free email account, a free web site, and are in business with just the cost of the CD. That business might last a week.

The ones I get a kick out of are where they "front load" you with merchandise. You could have thousands invested before you realize you have been taken. Most of the people trying to sell this deal, are only trying to recover the money someone else conned them out of, and hope you will be gullible enough to let them fleece your pockets. Anybody want to buy a "water filter"? I know someone with a garage full.

With the exception of a naïve minority, people are "savvy" enough to avoid the majority of these scams. So, if you want to get into business on the Net, use some common sense and do some "due diligence" investigation before jumping in with both feet .

Do some people make money on the Net? Sure - but guess what? They work for it. Some may tell you that JOB is a dirty word and stands for "Just Over Broke". Working for yourself is hard work if you want to succeed. You must run your "Home Business" with the same discipline you would use in any other.

You must advertise, advertise, advertise - if people don't know you're there, how do you expect them to find you to do business? Be prepared to work 60 to 70 hours a week or more if it is a full time venture.

But how about those who need the financial security of their job, while trying to develop their online business - can they hope to succeed? Yes! But they have to put in their effort in the evenings and on weekends. They have to approach it with the same attitude as someone doing it full time.

There are a lot of good opportunities "just ripe for the picking" out there. If you avoid the obvious scams, and do some "due diligence" investigation, you will find one. If the first few don't work for you, don't lose heart. Be sure you give it enough time and effort before giving up. If you are sure it won't, "cut your losses" and move on to something else. It may take some time to find a "fit", but when you do, it will be worth your time and effort.

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Bob publishes the free weekly "Your Business" newsletter. Visit his web site at < http://adv-marketing.com/business > to subscribe. As a bonus, get 40,000 free e-books from Larry Dotson, when you visit < http://www.ldpublishing.com >

SNIPPETS

DigitalWork
http://www.digitalwork.com/extras/promo3_start.html?

Web Cards are full color post cards with you web page printed on one side and optional text messages printed on the back side. They are a powerful way to spread the word about your site. Mail them to prospects and customers. Hand them out at meetings and trade shows.

Right now, if you order by June 15, 2000 you'll get 500 cards printed for free. You only pay shipping and handling. I ordered a set for the new KeywordWizard.com and the cost was only $14.00. That's a $95 discount.

If you have a snail-mail list, you can send it to them and for a fee they will address and mail your cards for you. Need a list? They have them for sale.

If you order some cards, send one to me for my wall.

DigitalWork has a broad range of business related services from training to advertising. Check out their offerings.

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UPDATES ON PAST GAZETTE ARTICLES:

Net Music Fans Would Pay For Albums, Study Says
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2033611.html?tag=st.ne.ron.lthd.ni

Music May Be Only The Beginning Of Grassroots Piracy
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-1757865-0.html

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Lycos Grows To Third Most Popular Search Engine
http://www.statmarket.com/

According to HitBox StatMarket reports, Lycos has grown to be the third most popular search engine. In part, this is due to the Lycos acquisition of the HotBot search engine. The remainder of growth is due to aggressive marketing by Lycos.

The percentage of search referrals generated by Lycos has surged from 1.12% on Jan. 8, 1999 to 5.28% on May 27, 2000, StatMarket reports.

The Spanish Internet company, Terra Networks, S.A. has announced that it plans to acquire Lycos in a deal valued at more than $12 billion. This action should place Lycos firmly in dominance of the Spanish language search market.

If you haven't paid much attention to your site's placement in Lycos because they were so far down the traffic ladder, now would be a good time to rethink that position.

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Gale Full-Text Content Free on LookSmart
http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb000605-1.htm

According to a press release from LookSmart, they have signed an exclusive agreement with Gale Group < http://www.gale.com > a leading full-text aggregator. "The partnership will make business and premium magazine and periodical content, from a variety of publications ranging from Scientific American to Rolling Stone, available for free to users who search the LookSmart directory."

This represents an astonishing content advantage for LookSmart and their 400 partner-sites. Full-text article from these publications has always been a highly desirable feature. The content is scheduled to go live at the end of June. I'll see you there.